Letters To God: Kenyans appeal for peaceful election

Five years after a disputed presidential election unleashed interethnic violence that scarred this East African nation, Kenyans are bracing for a new election amid fears of a fresh outbreak of bloodletting.But a growing number of Kenyans are challenging that fear with hope, with thousands taking up the call to “Write to God” with prayers that upcoming March 4 elections will be peaceful.One of the...

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Egypt finishes constitutional vote, but irregularities delay final results

Egyptian judges were investigating opposition accusations of voting irregularities today before declaring the result of a referendum set to show that a contentious new constitution has been approved.President Mohamed Morsi sees the basic law, drawn up mostly by Islamists, as a vital step in Egypt's transition to democracy almost two years after the fall of military-backed strongman Hosni Mubarak.The...

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Lebanese border means little in Syria's civil war

The four rain-filled bomb craters all visible within 100 yards of Mahmoud Ismael’s house starkly illustrate how Lebanon’s northern border has become an active frontline in Syria’s civil war, drawing in rival Lebanese Shiite and Sunni factions.A fifth shell had struck the edge of the roof, knocking out chunks of concrete and sending heavy steel shrapnel scything into the cement parapet and the soft...

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Could the US learn from Australia's gun-control laws?

Almost two weeks after a shooting spree stunned Australia in 1996, leaving 35 people dead at the Port Arthur tourist spot in Tasmania, the government issued sweeping reforms of the country’s gun laws. There hasn’t been a mass shooting since. Now, after the recent shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, Australia’s National Firearm Agreement (NFA), which saw hundreds of thousands of automatic...

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Doing the Lindy for fun and exercise in Moscow

As teenagers during the Soviet era, Sergey and Lyudmila Gubarev used to copy American-inspired songs onto cassette tapes that then made the rounds among their friends. The music on the tapes, spanning from the 1940s onward, offered them a peek through the Iron Curtain that closed off Western cultural imports.Today, they still love the same American tunes, but it is not such a clandestine affair.Sergey...

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Soccer: Real need rapid turnaround before United clash

Defeat at Malaga on Saturday has surely dashed any lingering hopes Real Madrid had of defending their La Liga title and they urgently need to find their form before Manchester United's Champions League visit on February 12.Jose Mourinho's decision to drop goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas for the 3-2 reverse was still sending out shockwaves on Sunday and the defeat had left an "insurmountable"...

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Soccer-Norwich settle dispute with former manager Lambert

LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Norwich City have come to an agreement with their former manager Paul Lambert and his new side Aston Villa to settle the dispute over his departure, the Premier League club said on Sunday.Villa will pay Norwich the original amount agreed in Lambert's contract with the Norfolk club who will pay the former Scotland midfielder his bonus due after the 2011/12 season."This represents...

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UPDATE 2-Soccer-Ligue 1 top scorers

Dec 23 (Infostrada Sports) - Top scorers of the Ligue 1 on Sunday18 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St Germain)11 Bafetimbi Gomis (Olympique Lyon)10 Dario Cvitanich (Nice)9 Anthony Modeste (Bastia)Wissam Ben Yedder (Toulouse)8 Julien Feret (Stade Rennes)Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (St Etienne)7 Jeremie Aliadiere (FC Lorient)Yoan Gouffran (Girondins Bordeaux)Romain Alessandrini (Stade Rennes)Eden Ben Basat...

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UPDATE 2-Soccer-Ligue 1 results and standings

Dec 23 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Ligue 1 matches on SundaySunday, December 23Olympique Marseille 1 St Etienne 0Toulouse 2 Sochaux 0Valenciennes 2 Evian Thonon Gaillard FC 1Saturday, December 22Ajaccio 2 Stade Rennes 4FC Lorient 2 Stade de Reims 2Girondins Bordeaux 0 ES Troyes AC 0Lille 4 Montpellier HSC 1Olympique Lyon 3 Nice 0Bastia 4 AS Nancy 2Friday, December 21Stade...

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Soccer-Marseille cling on with leaders after beating St Etienne

 Andre Ayew struck just before the break to give Olympique Marseille a 1-0 home win against St Etienne on Sunday and keep them level on points with leaders Paris St Germain.As Ligue 1 goes into a three-week break, OM are third with 38 points, behind pacesetters PSG and second-placed Olympique Lyon on goal difference.St Etienne, who last beat OM at the Velodrome in 1979, are 10th with 27 points...

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VP says he spoke with Chavez, who is up, walking

 Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro said late Monday night that he had spoken by telephone with President Hugo Chavez and that the leader is up and walking following cancer surgery in Cuba.It was the first time a top Venezuelan government official had confirmed speaking personally with Chavez since the Dec. 11 operation. Venezuelan officials have given few specifics on Chavez's condition,...

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Police Find Clothing Tied to Missing Yacht School Friends

lothing items believed to belong to two missing yacht school friends were found on the rocks of a small island off the coast of Maine, Kennebunkport police said today.Zachary Wells, 21, and Prescott Wright, 23, were last seen hanging out at a home in the seaside community on Thursday, police chief Craig Sanford said.The disappearance of the two friends baffled authorities, who have searched by air,...

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Man set trap and then shot and killed firefighters responding to Webster, N.Y. fire

A man with a criminal history shot and killed two West Webster, N.Y. firefighters and seriously injured two others as they responded to a fire at his home, police say.William H. Spengler, Jr., 62, apparently started a 5:35 a.m. fire at his home on Lake Road  and then waited with an armament of weapons for first responders to arrive, Webster N.Y. Police Chief Gerald Pickering said at an afternoon...

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Newspaper Publishes Gun Owners' Names and Addresses

A newspaper in New York has received a wave of criticism from its readers after publishing the names and addresses of all of the individuals with handgun or pistol permits in its coverage area.Hundreds of residents in New York's Westchester and Rockland counties were surprised to find their names and addresses listed on a map posted by The Journal News on Sunday. Users can click any dot on the map...

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At Christmas Eve Mass, pope urges space for God

Pope Benedict XVI marked Christmas Eve with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and a pressing question: Will people find room in their hectic, technology-driven lives for children, the poor and God?The pontiff also prayed that Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and freedom, and asked the faithful to pray for strife-torn Syria as well as Lebanon and Iraq.The ceremony began at 10 p.m. local time Monday...

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Windows already threatening iPhone in Southern Europe

Kantar Worldpanel’s report for November came out and much has been made of the iPhone market share surge in the United States. What I find interesting in the November numbers is just how ice cold the iPhone has gone in so many international markets, from Australia to Brazil to Southern Europe. The iOS market share showed hefty declines outside in many major markets: down 5.4 percentage points in Australia...

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HTC upgrades Android devices faster than any of its rivals

The problem with Android has always been the erratic schedules manufacturers and carriers use to update devices. Due to custom user interfaces that are used to differentiate devices from the large pool of Android vendors, manufacturers often require more time to update devices than Google (GOOG) does for its own Nexus line of smartphones and tablets. Smartphone makers must then submit their update...

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The Way the World Could Have Ended

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:RELATED: What Happens When You Sing 'All Night Long' All Night LongKnock, knock. You're still here, right?...

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RIM shares dive as fee changes catch market off guard

Shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd plunged more than 20 percent on Friday on fears that a new fee structure for its high-margin services segment could put pressure on the business that has set the company apart from its competitors.It was the stock's biggest, single-day, percentage price drop since September 2008. But shares were still nearly 80 percent above the year's low, which was...

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Facebook releases ‘Poke’ for the iPhone to compete with Snapchat

Facebook (FB) on Friday released a new free application for the iPhone called Poke that competes directly with Snapchat and allows users to send a messages, photos or videos that will self-destruct after a set time. With Poke you can send messages to individual friends or groups that are set to expire after one, three, five or ten seconds. The app is simple to use and only requires you to hold down...

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Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians voted on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the expected passage of the charter will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.Islamist President Mohammed Morsi is likely to emerge from a bruising month-long battle with a narrow victory for the constitution...

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Russia welcomes any offer to give Assad refuge

BEIRUT (AP) — Russia would welcome any country's offer of safe haven for Syrian President Bashar Assad, but has no plans to make one of its own, Moscow's foreign minister said in the latest comments to suggest a growing distance between the two allies.Sergey Lavrov's remarks on Friday night were among the clearest signs yet that Russia could be preparing for a Syria without Assad, as rebel pressure...

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Bombing kills 4, wounds 11 in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — An explosion at a shop selling CDs killed 4 people in a town northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday.Police officials say a bomb hidden in a plastic bag exploded near the shop Saturday afternoon in the town of Qazaniyah. Eleven people were wounded in the attack, and the shop was completely destroyed. Qazaniyah is 180 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of Baghdad.A medic in...

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Egypt's disputed charter headed toward approval

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution headed toward likely approval in a final round of voting on Saturday, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil.Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would bring a national consensus...

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Egypt's draft charter gets 'yes' majority in vote

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution received a "yes" majority in a final round of voting on a referendum that saw a low voter turnout, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil.Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would...

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Kan. agency posting tax guidance ahead of new law

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Revenue is posting guidance regarding two provisions of the state income tax law ahead of changes that take effect in January.Spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda said Tuesday that the guidance lets accountants, tax attorneys and residents know how the agency will be interpreting inconsistencies within the law. One of the items deals with how the taxpayers will...

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